Device for sharpening and jointing knives on a jointer, shaper and the like



Dec.- 16, 1958 H. c. MANN 2,864,210

DEVICE; FOR SHARPENING AND JOINTING KNIVES ON A JOINTER, 'SHAPER AND THE LIKE Filed May 14, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. HERMAN C. MANN ATTokA/Eys Dec. 16, 1958 H. c. MANN 2,8

DEVICE; FOR SHARPENING AND JOINTING KNIVES ON A JOINTER, SHAPER AND THE LIKE Filed May 14, 1956 I 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVEN TOR.

A T TOPNFYS HERMAN C. MANN United; States Patent a DEVICE FOR SHARPENING AND JOINTING ENIV ES ON A JOINTER, SHAPER AND THE IKE Herman C. Mann, San Francisco, Calif.

Application May 14, 1956, Serial No. 584,545

Claims. (Cl. 51-246) This invention relates to a device for sharpening an'd jointing knives on a jointer, shaper and the like, and has for one of its objects the provision of an economically made, rugged, simple and efiicient device that may be easily, quickly and accurately secured in position on the work table of a jointer, planer and the like for sharpening and for jointing the knives on the jointer, planer etc.

The word jointers will be used hereafter with the understanding that it is not a word of restriction, but includes planers and any machine on which the device is adapted to be used.

Attempts have heretofore been made to incorporate sharpening and jointing means in a jointer as a permanent part thereof, but due to the prohibitive expense of such designs and the difficulty of access to the parts thereof as well as their constant exposure to dust and the material cut by the knives such attempts have generally been abandoned.

Other devices have been produced for grinding the jointer knives; however, such devices require a motor, grinding wheel and an expensive and complicated mount or carriage therefor, whereas the necessity for the actual grinding of the knives on a jointer may be long deferred without loss in efiiciency by sharpening and jointing the blades along their cutting edges without necessarily grinding them across the full thickness of each knife as is done with a grinder.

An object of this invention is the production of a device that will accurately joint the knives along their cutting edges while sharpening them and without removal of the knives from the rotary head supporting them. By jointing is meant keeping their cutting edges parallel and equidistant from the axis of rotation of the head so that the knives will each produce the same cut, thereby insuring a smooth and even surface on the material that is being worked on.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the description' and in the drawings.

In the drawings, Fig. l is a perspective view of the top of a jointer with the fence removed, showing the sharpening and jointing device thereon and on the work feed side of the table.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the portion of the table carrying the sharpening an'd jointing device with the latter thereon.

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the sharpening and jointing device.

Fig. 4 is a side elevational view of the device of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken along line 5-5 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken along line 6-45 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken along line 7-7 of Fig. 5.

Fig. 8 is an exploded perspective view of one form of stone that may be used in the device. I

Fig. 9 is a perspective, fragmentary view of a moditied form of table engaging means for the sharpening and jointing device.

In detail, a conventional jointer comprises a work sup- Patented Dec. 16, 1958 porting table (Figs. 1, 2) that includes front and rear tables 1, 2 at opposite sides of the cutter head 3, and which tables are vertically adjustable relative to each other and to the center head in the usual manner. For purpose of description, the table 1 will be considered as the one at the feed side of the cutter head, and preferably, the jointing device of this invention is adapted to be secured to table 1. The direction of rotation of the knives of the cutter head 3 at the top of their movement is toward table 1.

The device illustrating the present invention comprises an elongated base plate 4 that is adapted to extend across the table 1 transversely thereof and adjacent to the cutter head 3. This plate may have a rigid ear 5 depending from one end thereof and a swinging ear 6 depending from the opposite end (Fig. 4). These ears will extend downwardly in opposed relation to the opposite edges of the table 1 when the plate 4 is on the table. It will be seen that the guard support '7 on the jointer is considered as part of table 1, being rigid therewith, and that one end of the plate 4 extends over this support so that car 6 is in opposed relation to the edge of said support.

The swinging ear 6 is secured at one end to a screw 3 that threadedly extends through a lug 9 rigid with plate 4 and extending upwardly therefrom at one end of said plate, and a lock nut 10 on said screw is adapted to hold it stationary when the ear 6 is in adjusted position. Thus the car can swing about the axis of screw 8 and be moved toward and away from the ear 5 that is opposed thereto upon loosening the nut 11). A table engaging screw 11 threadedly extends through the outer end of the ear 6 and is pointed at its table engaging end to firmly engage the edge of the table against slippage relative thereto when the screw is tightened.

The ear 5 preferably has a fixed table engaging pointed member 12 thereon and horizontally spaced therefrom is a screw 13 that threadedly extends through the ear 5. for engagement with the edge of the table, and which screw also has a pointed table engaging end. A lock nut 14 on screw 13 is adapted to lock the screw to the ear against rotation, and the head of said screw is slotted for a screwdriver.

This arrangement of the means for clamping the plate 4 to the table enables the plate and all elements carried thereby to be adjusted horizontally relative to the table. Thus if the surfaces on the jointer to be engaged by the screws are not at right angles to the axis of the cutter head, and usually they are not, the screw 13 can be adjusted so that the travel of the sharpening stone adapted to be carried by the plate, will be parallel with the axis of rotation of the cutter head, as will later be explained more in detail.

The rotation of ear 6 enables the latter to be moved to a position for effectively engaging the edge of the table where there may otherwise be some obstruction to movement to position, and the screw 8 enables the ear to be moved toward and away from the ear 5 so as to enable the plate 4 to be positioned on tables of different widths.

Above the ear 5 is a lug 15 that is in opposed relation to lug 9, and which lug corresponds to lug 9 except that it does not have ascrew extending therethrough such as screw 8.

A bar 17 is secured at its ends in lugs 9, 15 spaced above and parallel with the base plate 4.

This bar 17 is preferably round and is preferably positioned nearer to one longitudinally extending edge of plate 4 than to the other edge 18 of said plate, and said bar is parallel with said edge 18.

An elongated stone carrying body 19 is slidably and rotatably supported on the bar 17, said body being formed with a transverse passageway 20 at one end with a'bushing therein that closely and slidably fits the bar 17. The

3 opposite end is formed with an elongated recess 21 that is rectangular in cross sectional contour and that opens laterally outwardly of one side of the body and that opens at one end outwardly ofthe end of said body. This recess extends generally longitudinally of the body and is adapted to receive therein the sharpening stone 22, which stone is also rectangular in cross sectional contour to fit the recess. 'One end of said stone is adapted to project outwardly of the end of body 19 and its outer end is formed with an angular face 23 adapted to be engaged by the cutting edges of the cutter head.

A plate 24 is adapted to be secured by screws 25 to the body 19 in a position extending over and closing the laterally outwardly opening side of recess 21, and which plate is preferably of resilient steel and is bent to form a central rib 27 (Fig. 7) that extends longitudinally of the stone 22 and which rib is in engagement therewith or with a side of a U-clamp 26 that may be clamped to the inner end of the stone 22 so that the stone will be frictionally but slidably held in recess 21 for longitudinal movement only in said recess.

The closed end 28 of the clamp 26 may be formed with a slot 29 (Fig. 8) that is adapted to receive a restricted neck 30 formed at one end of a stone adjusting screw 31. The head 32 of the end of the screw at one side of said neck may be laterally moved to a position between said closed end 28 and the stone through an enlarged opening 33 in one side of the U-clamp.

Screw 31 extends through the body 19 generally longitudinally thereof and out of the block above passageway 20, and the end of the screw so projecting from the block has a finger engageable head 34 for rotation of the screw by the fingers of an operator for moving the stone in and out of the body to different distances therefrom as desired. Any similar connection between the screw and the stone may be provided.

The upper side of body 19 is formed with a thumb rest 35, and the lower side of the body is formed with a transversely extending recess 36 (Figs. 2, that is adapted to fit and to receive the upper corner of plate 4- along edge 18. This recess and corner of the plate provide a guide means to hold the body against any possible wobbling thereof during sliding of the body along bar 17.

-In operation, the plate is positioned on the table 1 alongside the cutter head 3 with the surface at the end of the stone positioned for sharpening engagement by the knives of the cutter head when the body 19 is held down against the plate 4 along the edge 18 of the latter. As the cutter head is revolved the body 1) is moved back and forth until the knife edges are sharpened to the desired amount, which will be determined when the sharpening action ceases. As the surface 23 becomes worn at any point the stone and table 1 can be adjusted to compensate for such wear so the surface 23 will wear down evenly. Many jointing and sharpening operations may be accurately performed before the cutting knives require a grinding job.

-In some instances the base plate 4 may be clamped to a table by means of clamps 37 (Fig. 9) at opposite ends of the base plate, a slot 38 may be formed in one end of the plate for passing the screw shank 39 of one clamp and an opening 40 may be formed in the other end of the plate for the same kind of a shank on a corresponding clamp 37. Slot 38 extends longitudinally of the plate to enable adjusting the spacing of the clamps to accommodate tables of different widths, and to enable the clamps to be quickly freed from engagement with the table.

It is to be understood that various modifications can be made within the scope of the claims, and the detailed description is not intended to necessarily limit the invention to such details.

I claim:

1. A knife sharpening and jointing device for use on a jointer, planer and the like for sharpening and jointing the knives thereof comprising: an elongated horizontally extending member adapted to be carried by and to extend across the work supporting table of a jointer or planer alongside and longitudinally of the knives thereof, a sharpening stone projecting generally horizontally from said member, a body carrying said stone slidably supported on said member for free reciprocable movement on the latter from end to end thereof solely under manual pressure against it with said stone projecting generally horizontally and downwardly outwardly of said body for engagement of said stone with said knives when said member is carried and above said table and in a position alongside said knives, means connected with said mem her for releasably securing it to said table in said position, the means for connecting said member to said table including an elongated base plate parallel with and below said member and adapted to rest on and to extend across said table transversely thereof, and a pair of horizontally spaced adjusting elements carried by said base plate engageable with one of the lateral edges of said table at horizontally spaced points along said one of the lateral edges of said table, and a single element supported on said member for movement into engagement with said table along the edge thereof opposite to said one edge, at least one of said pair of elements being a screw carried by said member and movable to different adjusted positions toward and away from said single element for controlling the angular relationship of said plate and member relative to the axis of said table that is normal to the axis of revolution of said knives to enable positioning said member parallel with the said axis of revolution and to rigidly hold said member in its adjusted position.

2. A knife sharpening and jointing device for use on a jointer, planer and the like for sharpening and jointing the knives thereof comprising: an elongated member adapted to be carried by and to extend across the work supporting table of a jointer or planer alongside and longitudinally of the knives thereof, a sharpening stone, at body carrying said stone slidably supported on said member for reciprocable movement on the latter with said stone projecting to one side of said member and outwardly of said body for engagement of said stone with said knives when said member is carried and above said table and in a position alongside said knives, means connected with said member for releasably securing it to said table in said position, the means for connecting said member to said table including an elongated base plate parallel with and below said member and adapted to rest on and to extend across said table transversely thereof, and movable adjusting elements carried by said base plate engageable with the lateral edges of said table for controlling the angular relationship of said plate and member relative to the axis of said table that is normal to the axis of revolution of said knives to enable positioning said member parallel with the said axis of revolution, and guide means on said base plate and on said body spaced from said member and in slidable engagement with each other for holding said body against angular movement relative to said member during movement of said body along said member.

3. In a sharpening and jointing device for a jointer, planer and the like including an elongated stone and means for supporting such stone over the table of such jointer for movement thereof longitudinally of the knives of the latter with the stone in engagement with said knives, said means including a body for carrying such stone, said body being formed with an elongated laterally outwardly opening recess the sides and bottom of which substantially conform to the cross sectional contour of said stone and said stone being in said recess with the side thereof opposite to said bottom of said recess exposed, a plate releasably secured to said body extending over said exposed side of said stone and yieldable means carried by said body slidably engaging a side of said stone for frictionally holding said stone firmly in said recess, a screw connected with said stone and threadedly carried by said body for moving said stone longitudinally thereof in opposite directions to different distances outwardly of said body, one end of said recess being open to enable such movement of said stone.

4. In a sharpening and jointing device for a jointer, planer and the like including an elongated stone and means for supporting such stone over the table of such jointer for movement thereof longitudinally of the knives of the latter with the stone in engagement with said knives, said means including a body for carrying such stone, said body being formed with an elongated laterally outwardly opening recess the sides and bottom of which substantially conform to the cross sectional contour of said stone and said stone being in said recess with the side thereof opposite to said bottom of said recess exposed;

a plate releasably secured to said body extending over said exposed side of said stone and yieldable means carried by said body slidably engaging a side of said stone for frictionally holding said stone firmly in said recess, a screw connected with said stone and threadedly carried by said body for moving said stone longitudinally thereof in opposite directions to difierent distances outwardly of said body, one end of said recess being open to enable such movement of said stone, said yieldable means comprising a portion of said plate projecting toward and against said stone.

5. In a sharpening and jointing device for a jointer,

planer and the like having a base plate adapted to extend across the work supporting table of such jointer alongside its knives, means carried by said base plate for sup porting a sharpening stone for reciprocable movement across said table in a straight line in engagement with said knives when said plate is on said table, means on said base plate at its ends adapted to be positioned clear of the work supporting surface of said table and laterally thereof along two of its opposite edges for releasably securing it to said table and for adjusting said plate to different angular positions relative to said table to compensate for irregularities in said table so the line of movement of said stone will be parallel with the axis of rotation of the knives of the jointer.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 476,938 Whitney June 14, 1892 874,355 Blood et al. Dec. 17, 1907 985,473 Thomas Feb. 28, 1911 1,071,580 Ring Aug. 26, 1913 2,620,606 Dvorak Dec. 9, 1952 2,729,923 Durst Jan. 10, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 804,070 Germany Apr. 16, 1951 

